My family and I spend a lot of time during the holidays watching Christmas movies together. This year, we have already enjoyed a few favorites from previous years, as well as new movies. Five of our favorites have been:
“The Spirit of Christmas†(2015)
“The Spirit of Christmas†follows a lawyer named Kate who is spending the last three weeks before Christmas trying to close the selling of a historic inn. The manager of the inn claims that a spirit who lives there will not be happy to hear the inn is being sold. Twelve days before Christmas, the spirit, Daniel, appears. He died over 100 years ago and cannot discover the mystery of his yearly appearance. Kate’s promotion is relying on selling the inn, so she and Daniel must work together to solve what is bringing him back every year.
This movie is able to get anyone into the holiday spirit with its romantic and touching storyline.
Stream “The Spirit of Christmas†on Prime Video for $1.99.
“Holidate†(2020)
After Christmas, Sloane and Jackson randomly meet at a store return counter. After discussing the difficulties of being single on holidays, they strike up a deal to be each other’s “holidates†for the remainder of the year. They spend each and every holiday in each others presence to make the day more tolerable. Despite poking fun of the clichés of romances, they catch real feeling for each other along the way.
Holidate is a fun and easy-going comedy and is prepared to put a smile on everyone’s face.
Stream “Holidate†on Netflix.
â€National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation†(1989)
It is Christmas time and the Griswolds are preparing for a family gathering, but nothing in the household runs smoothly for Clark, Ellen, and their two kids. Clark pesters his family to make a “perfect†Christmas, with a nice tree and bright lights. But when Clark and Ellen’s families come in for the holiday, that only makes their luck even worse. Clark has to keep up his positive attitude to make this Christmas what he wanted — the best yet.
The Griswold family is entertaining for the whole group. Stream “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation†on Hulu.
“A California Christmas†(2020)
CEO Amy Van Aston has her eye set on a California family farm to complete a business deal.
She gives her son, Joseph, an ultimatum: either seduce the owner, Callie, into selling or give up his extravagant lifestyle. When arriving to the farm, Callie mistakes Joseph for the new ranch hand she just hired. He sees this as the perfect opportunity to get an in with Callie and her family. While learning how to help with manual labor around the farm, he realizes that his life working on the farm with Callie might be what is best for him.
A California Christmas is another rom-com that gets everyone anticipating the holiday, with the deal’s deadline being Christmas. Stream “A California Christmas,†as well as its sequel, on Netflix.
“A Christmas Prince†(2017)
Unexpectedly, journalist Amber gets the opportunity to go to Aldovia and report on their prince, Richard, who must decide whether or not he wants to become king before Christmas Eve.
Amber decides to sneak into the castle to try and find something to report on when the prince did not turn up at his scheduled conference. She is mistaken for Princess, Emily’s new tutor who was supposed to arrive soon after the holidays. She takes the opportunity to play along to learn more about the prince and his family.
She quickly realizes that there is more to what he is portrayed like in the media. She also discovers there is complications around his accession to the throne, which she is dragged into. Eventually, she has to tell the truth of who she is, and it may be difficult for the family to forgive her.
Follow up to this heartwarming romance with “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding†and “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby.†Stream the trilogy on Netflix.
